“It’s Prime Time,’’ Milliner said of Sanders. “You got to love him. He had that swagger a defensive back should have. He’ll tell you what he was doing and he backed it up 100 percent.

“I wish Deion was playing so I could watch him. I still look at his tapes. YouTube, I’ve got old people in my family that knew him, seen him play, so I always go around them and ask them about him.”

Milliner got to show off in front of Sanders on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. With Sanders watching as an NFL Network analyst, Milliner ran a blistering 4.37 in the 40-yard dash, solidifying his position as the top cornerback in the NFL draft.

Milliner looks like a definite top-10 pick, and he could sneak into the top five if the Eagles (No. 4) or Lions (No. 5) decide they can’t pass him up. The Eagles may be parting with high-priced corner Nnamdi Asomugha, who has been a disappointment in Philadelphia. Cornerback is a weakness for the Lions, giving Milliner a chance to be a hit in Motown.

Milliner, who has a shoulder injury that will require surgery in March, could have skipped the Combine workout and let scouts evaluate him off his impressive college career at Alabama. Instead, Milliner postponed surgery and competed in every drill except the bench press.

“I didn’t just want to sit out the Combine and pro day. I just wanted to come out and showcase that I can move around, I can run, and I swing my arm around.”

On Sunday, Dee Milliner was asked how fast he would run Tuesday.

“Watch the NFL Combine,” Milliner said.

He made it worth watching. He expects a two-month rehab process after his surgery, but Milliner said the team that drafts him would get a player capable of having instant impact.

While Milliner will not have to wait long to hear his name called on the first night of the draft, Tyrann Mathieu’s journey to the NFL has been much different. Mathieu was expelled from LSU after repeated violations of the university’s substance abuse policy and was arrested for marijuana possession last October.

After a stay in rehab and plenty of time to think about what went wrong, Mathieu says he is humbled and determined, trying to convince NFL personnel that he can be a star cornerback in the league. Mathieu took a step in that direction Tuesday a solid on-field workout that included running a 4.50 in the 40, faster than most scouts expected.

Where Mathieu failed to impress was during his bench press, doing just four 225-pound reps, which was a red flag to NFL teams regarding Mathieu’s lack of work in the weight room. However, on the field, Mathieu looked at home.